The Thief Of Words
by Jenn222
Summary: The girl was a shadow, she was night, she was a thief. The boy a prince. Her target acquired. What happens when things don't go quite as planned and the girl gets caught? The thief and the Prince's worlds collide and together they are thrown into a wild adventure to steal the something very important. Please read and review.
1. Prologue: Little Thief

**Prologue: The Little Thief**

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The young girl smiled. She stood hands behind her back, with that huge grin taking up her whole face, her head tilted sideways and innocence emanating off of her. Her eyes were wide with false naive.

"Hello Freddie." The girl chimed sweetly at the boy, who moments before, had charged angrily into the room.

'Freddie' however didn't seem to believe this little act that the girl played by. His eyes were narrowed in anger and distrust.

"I know you took it you little thief!" Freddie accused the smaller girl. He was steaming.

"Took what?" She asked innocently.

"Stop! You know what. Now, Give it back!' Freddie demanded and accused loudly once again. Still the girl showed no guiltiness and she appeared quite confused by the boys words.

"I really have no clue what you're talking about." She portrayed confusion even more prominently now. Freddie faltered in his accusations but continued on, with less conviction though.

"My knight." He stuttered unsurely. "Give it back… please?"

"Your knight? I don't have it Freddie." The girl was sympathetic. "I'll keep an eye out for it though." She shoved worry and sorrow into her words causing Freddie to frown in confusion.

"Oh… Um, Okay. Thanks Nyx." He hesitated but then left the room.

The little girl smiled wider and from behind her back she pulled out two dolls, one looking suspiciously like a toy knight.

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**Thanks for reading, please review.**

**PeaceLoveApples**

**Jenn **


	2. Chapter 1: The It That Starts It All

Chapter 1: The It That Starts It All

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Nyx Mason danced with the other inhabitants of the town as if she were just a normal girl. The spring Festival was the perfect holiday for celebration and dancing. It was also the perfect opportunity for stealing. Everyone was close together, chatting, bumping into each other and drinking.

Nyx surveyed the unknowing crowd, scanning for her next victim. She found him, blonde hair, looking to be very well off from his clothes and composure. She danced closer toward him. A moth to a flame. Then it stopped her. It being a golden chain resting on another boy's throat.

This boy stood almost next to the first blonde boy. He seemed less interested in all the people surrounding him and all the festivities. This boy was less handsome than Nyx's ex-victim, although that didn't matter much to her. All it meant was less girls to contend against when she went to get the pretty chain, but still enough surrounded him that no one would notice her. All she had to do was dance near or with him.

After she had managed to nab it, Nyx danced happily away with a small smile at the boy claiming to be thirsty. She wouldn't return and the boy's name was already long forgotten as Nyx clutched the gold chain in her hand and smiled at her success. Smartly she hid the golden chain on her body. Positive that no one had seen her illegal act, she slipped into the woods and away from the festivities. Slithering away from the scene like the snake she was.

Except he had seen her. Her ex-victim had noticed it all. He saw and he knew. His hands shoved people out of his way as he attempted to follow after her quickly. He saw her slip into the woods. His heart hammered and his shoving became more frantic. When he finally made it away from the crowd and tailed close enough to her he yelled after her.

"Hey you!" Nyx stopped in her tracks, a groan ready to flee her lips. She contained both it and other complaints with the prison bars of her forced smile.

"Hello." Nyx greeted him kindly. He didn't return her kindness but instead grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her towards him.

"Where is it?" He growled fiercely. Nyx's face was fully frightened, surprised, and innocent. Always innocent. Her free hand moved slowly towards her back pocket as she released a yelp.

"What are-"

"Don't." He commanded, his look was hard and determined. "I saw you."

"I have absolutely no clue as to what yo-" Nyx attempted to convince him of her innocence but once again was cut off by his harsh voice.

"I hate thieves." He spat it at her. Nyx's eyes narrowed, changing her face from the mask of innocence to a sudden frightening glare. The boy took a half-step backward, surprised by the sudden change in mood. From behind her back she pulled out a large dagger and waved it at the blonde boy.

"And I hate the rich and privileged, how may I help you?" The boy's grasp on her arm released and he pulled his own sword at her. Her snark had surfaced and was not lost on the boy.

Nyx's snark often surfaced whenever danger arrived. She hated danger but she loved doing dangerous things, it was a very difficult life she lead.

"You hate the rich. I hate thieves. Seems we are at an impasse." He motioned his sword at her shorter one as if to prove his point

"What if I'm just a regular Robin Hood?" Nyx inquired. Her question implied that she was guiltless and honorably stealing for the poor and well being of others. Both of them knew that was not the case.

"Then I suppose you'd have a band of merry men and be sporting a bow and arrow." He supplied without much humor. He was in no mood to deal with any of this and just needed that chain so he could give it back to the other boy.

"No merry men," Nyx started thoughtfully. "but I suppose I could scrounge up a bow and arrow." She smirked happily at her witty response. He scowled not impressed and waited.

Both of them stared at the other waiting for them to make the first move, they were indeed at an impasse. Nyx stared straight into the boy's eyes boldly.

Most people never dared to make eye contact with him for so long and most women not at all. Her grey eyes bore into him and left him feeling unnerved. Her eyes seemed to be penetrating straight through him, he shifted uncomfortably.

Nyx grinned, self satisfied with his nervous shuffling. She was unafraid of the long, piercing eye contact. In fact she quite enjoyed it. Nyx felt that she could read a person and know their inner most self just by gazing into their eyes. His eyes caused her to falter in her aggression, she lowered her sword slightly. Enough that it was no longer threatening but still keeping it out for protection. Nyx felt she had read the boy's soul and she liked what she saw, she could tell he had kindness and intelligence in those deep and dark blue eyes.

"My name is Nyx." She introduced herself then waited patiently for him to do the same. After around five more minutes, four and twenty she had counted, he finally chose to answer her but rather hesitantly.

"I'm Colin." He introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you." Nyx practically sang it with a smug smile.

"Wish I could say the same." Colin grumbled, this caused Nyx to beam even wider. "I need my brother's amulet back."

"Amulet?" She inquired again, this time appearing genuinely curious. Colin couldn't tell if she was really genuine or acting as she had been before. All he knew was that he couldn't trust her. Thieves couldn't be trusted and this girl lied too well.

"Look the only value it has is sentimental. It's not worth anything." He informed her impatiently. "You can't sell it." His statements were only partially lies. The amulet was of great sentimental value and importance to his younger brother. However Nyx seemed uncaring of these facts.

"I don't take things to sell them." She notified him but didn't explain herself further. Colin's temper flared at her unwillingness and unhelpfulness.

"Please just give it back." He snapped at her as his patience was tested. Colin had never thought of himself as patient, neither had anyone else for that matter and this girl was getting on his nerves. Colin's older brothers had often poked fun at him, finding his buttons easily pushed and his temper easily stepped upon.

"What's it's sentimental value?" Nyx was legitimately interested in the possibility of the answer. People had always told her from the time that she was a young girl that she was too curious for her own good. She was always poking her nose into business that was not hers.

"I don't have to and I won't tell you." Colin's temper flared again as he responded stiffly to her.

"And I don't have to and won't return it to you then." Nyx frowned at his rudeness. All she did was ask a simple question, had he answered then maybe he would've gotten his dumb necklace back. Nyx sat down on the forest floor nonchalantly and leaned against a tree.

"I'll have you arrested." Colin threatened her. Nyx rolled her eyes and smirked in response.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Why do you doubt me?" He stomped his foot childishly. The way she acted fascinated and angered him at the same time.

"No one else saw me, it's your word against mine." Nyx responded reasonably and satisfied with her answer. She felt she had won this encounter. Colin grinned at her response, surprising her.

"They'd believe me." He spoke too confidently.

"Sure." Nyx smiled at him, in the process hiding her small moment of doubt. After all her father was a well liked duke and knight, no one would believe this boy over her. No knight would believe that she had stolen when she already had plenty for herself.

"Please?" Colin begged desperately. This was going to be his last try he decided. If she still refused he would just have to call his palace guards to come and arrest her.

"How about we make a deal?" Nyx suggested with a grin. Colin's temper wasn't the only thing brought about, his eagerness to win a bet was large too. Colin's brothers would bribe and test him to try and get a good bargain. Colin found himself intrigued and questioned her about her proposition.

"What kind of deal?"

"Well, I need to steal this item. It's protected really well and is nearly impossible to get. If you help me then I'll give you your brothers amulet back."

Colin was ready to immediately and vehemently disagree to her ridiculous bargain. But something stopped him. There was something about this Nyx girl that intrigued him more than he'd like to admit. He wanted to know more about her, why she stole things if not to sell them, what this incredibly difficult to attain object was and so much more. He knew he could simply call the palace guards to take her and throw her in jail for stealing from once Prince and then lying to another, but he didn't want to.

If Colin was completely honest with himself, he was bored of palace life, bored of his lessons everyday and all the properness in his life. He hated how no one stared him in the eyes as Nyx had so willingly, he hated that no one ever challenged him like she had. Even if she annoyed him to no end. Plus he knew that no one would miss him at the palace, he was his fathers sixth son. His five older brothers kept his parents and the palace inhabitants busy enough. Then there was his younger brother, since he was the seventh son he was important, more important than Colin himself.

Colin longed for an adventure. He needed one otherwise he might end up killing off all his annoying, boring brothers. Annoying older brothers who endlessly picked on him and never let him forget he was younger.

"Alright, I'm in." He started hesitantly but finished strongly. Nyx stood and offered her hand for him to shake on the deal. Colin slowly stuck his hand into hers and shook it.

By giving Nyx his hand, he was jumping away from the safety of princehood and palace life into the choppy water of thievery and trickery. His head was full of fears but the determination and sheer boredom from his life drowned them out. Nyx's hand seemed like the only thing that could pull him out of the water and into a smooth sailing ship. Of course ships can still be struck down by storms or attacked by pirates.


	3. Chapter 2: Borrowing Human Beings

**Chapter 2: Borrowing Human Beings**

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Nyx snaked her way through the village, slithering through the back of houses and alleyways which made it almost impossible for Colin to follow her. She traveled like a shadow with her black hair mixing into the night and giving her the effect of invisibility. She moved quickly but was forced to double back whenever he'd lost her. Colin sensed this was more a game to Nyx than anything else, that intrigued and upset him all at once. Intrigued him because it was sort of fun, but upset him because he wanted to get to the real danger and adventure. This was just a waste of time.

"We're here." She whispered with a big smile on her face. Colin looked at the brick building in confusion. It wasn't very big and had large fields with things that looked like practice dummies and targets for shooting.

"The barracks? Some incredibly hard to steal thing is in there?" Colin stared at the building for knight training not impressed.

"Of course not." Nyx chuckled humorously. "In there is something we will need for stealing the item."

"So we have to steal something from here to steal the next thing?" Colin muttered his question dubiously. Again Nyx giggled.

"Sort of, we are more going to… borrow it." She grinned as she walked up to the door and into the building. Colin was shocked by her forwardness and hurried after her to catch up. He followed her down a hallway and into a room. The room contained lots of beds with boys resting in them. Colin crept as quietly as he could behind Nyx, who seemed unconcerned with the possibility of waking any of these boys. Her footsteps weren't loud but they weren't necessarily soft either, as they had been earlier through town. She was so unconcerned that she marched straight over to one boy and shook him harshly. Colin felt alarmed and panicky. Was she trying to get them in trouble? He didn't want to be caught 'borrowing' whatever they were going to be getting.

"Wake up!" She hissed in the boy's ear and yanked him to the ground. A lump of blankets and boy flew off the bed and landed hard on the floor. The lump let out a groan and rose slowly. The boy who stood was tall and bulky, he had brown hair cut closely to his head and he wore pajamas.

"Whasthisabou?" He mumbled groggily. Nyx yanked the boy again, this time out into the hallway. She waited for Colin to walk through and then shut the door behind them.

"Freddie, Colin. Colin, Freddie." She introduced the two boys quickly, then continued speaking to Freddie. "Fred what do you say to a journey of sorts?" Nyx bit her lip in excitement and gave the older boy a pleading look.

Freddie sighed and frowned. "I don't know Nic-"

"Please Freddie!" Nyx elongated the 'e' syllable in both words and made a puppy dog face just in case. Freddie sighed again in torture.

"I hate when you do this." He mumbled and then finished louder. "Actually I hate you." He said it simply as if it was a regular thought he shared with her. Colin was surprised by this response although Nyx didn't seem to be.

"I know you do." Nyx responded with a beam and a kiss on the tall guy's cheek. "I love you big brother." Colin was even more shocked now. Big brother? These two couldn't look less alike. Nyx had deep, grey, mischievous eyes, black hair, and a pale complexion while Freddie had reddish brown hair, trusting, warm, golden brown eyes and was very tan. Nyx was also slight and smaller while Freddie was tall, thick and muscular. They did act how a brother and sister might, Colin thought.

"Yeah, yeah. So where do we start?" Freddie grumbled at her again with a false, forced scowl. He really did love her like she was his younger sister even when she tormented him. Which he thought was much too often, though Nyx felt wasn't nearly often enough. The two had grown up together and had been friends since they were in cribs in the orphanage. Even after Freddie had left to be trained as a knight and Nyx had been found by her rich, Noble parents they had stayed close.

"Well you should get dressed and packed, I'll go talk to Captain." Nyx commanded.

"G'luck." Freddie turned back into his room with a roll of his eyes.

"We're borrowing a human being?" Colin inquired with confusion. He'd thought they were going to get an 'it', an item. Nyx nodded as her only response. She then started off to find and talk to whoever this "Captain" was, so Colin presumed.

Captain turned out to be an older man, tall, gruff, and with little to no hair. He looked less than surprised to see Nyx at his office door when he had opened it. He greeted the girl as if he was used to her random appearances in the middle of the night.

"Ah. Miss Mason, what may I do for you know?" The man gestured for her and her companion to take a seat in front of a large desk in his office. Nyx made herself comfortable and sat in the man's chair. Colin felt this was rather rude and decided to stand politely in the corner waiting for their meeting to finish. Colin wanted adventure not talking to an old man in his office for unknown reasons.

"Captain, I was wondering if I could borrow Sir Knight Freddie Ostrof as protection on a journey I will be taking." Nyx was calm and mature when speaking to this man, a complete contrast to how her attitude had been earlier. Beside her choice of seats, Nyx was being very polite and ladylike.

"And does your father know about this excursion Miss?" Captain raised an eyebrow in wonder. Nyx didn't bat an eyelash as her lies floated from her lips to the man's ears.

"Of course he does. He even suggested it. I told him I should be allowed to pick one of my guards from the school if I were to go." Captain assessed Nyx's face.

"And you're sure you want Freddie?"

"Yes Captain. He and I go far back as I'm sure you know, I'd love to help him get real experience in the field." The Captain nodded thoughtfully.

"It would be nice for him, Freddie can get very restless here." Nyx smiled lightly.

"I can assure you Captain, he'll not be bored with me." Nyx smirked a little although it was obvious she was trying not to. She knew she needed to appear more innocent but it was difficult when she thought about just how not bored Freddie would be with her. How not bored he always was with her.

"I'm sure he won't be, Miss Mason. Tell your father hello for me." The man winked at her and nodded. Nyx stood, taking this as her cue to leave saying nothing more than a simple,

"Will do, Captain."

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**Thanks for reading, please review.**

**Pokemonchen- His parents don't really pay attention or notice him, so I don't think they'd realize or really care much.**

**RandomAngel123- I checked out your story, very good :)**

**Guest- Who ever you are... thank you for the review. I sure hope this will be fun, i plan on it! ;)**

**Servant123- Thank you for the review, it made me smile.**

**PeaceLoveDriedMango,**

**Jenn**


	4. Chapter 3: Brightson Is Magnificent

**Chapter 3: Brightson Is Magnificent, Not Cute**

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Nyx lead the two boys to a large mansion. The mansion towered with all its beauty over the three. It was painted different shades of yellows, browns and oranges, producing a happy and welcoming atmosphere. Anyone who simply glanced at the house could tell that the people who inhabited it were rich. It made Colin wonder if they were going to steal from this house, although it seemed unlikely because Nyx had preluded to nothing of the sort. Also Freddie seemed quite comfortable ambling straight through the roses and daisies in the yard. Nyx on the other hand dragged herself softly through the nicely gardened yard and up to the front porch, her expression and the way she leaned back from the house made it seem like the house was painted all black and had knives sticking off of it. Although Nyx might've liked the house more if it did look like that.

Nyx's hand was hesitant before quickly jerking the door open. Her feet and breathing equally silent as she tiptoed over the front door. Colin clomped in after her, earning himself a glare. Freddie strolled in like the house was his own. Nyx rolled her eyes at both boys and pat-footed over to a side table placed beneath a hanging portrait. On the table parchment and a quill and ink laid neatly. Nyx scrawled out a note on a piece of the parchment.

Mr. Mason-

Freddie and I are just going out for a bit.

We'll be back soon. Don't worry. Tell Mrs. Mason the same.

Also the Captain sends his greetings.

-Nyx

Colin read the note as she walked away from it and up toward the stairs. Her handwriting was neat, yet wild. Her Ys curving and shooting out toward the other letters and her Fs jutting lower than needed and being crossed with a curved, crazy, line, the same as her Ts. Colin could tell she'd had handwriting classes, he'd had some himself and could recognize some of the commonalities in any nobel's handwriting. Colin tried piecing together all the things he was discovering about Nyx. She was a puzzle, a large, a million piece, only for advanced puzzle doers, puzzle. Colin tried to fit in Nobility to the rough, thieving, wise-cracking Nyx he saw earlier, the pieces didn't connect. He needed more before the puzzle could be complete. That was the problem with large puzzles, you're always missing pieces.

Nyx was indeed rich, at least her parents were anyways. Her father was the duke of the village they lived in and he was a respected commanding knight for the king. Her mother had been a Noble woman her whole life. Nyx hadn't always lived with her rich parents. When she was younger her mother had lost Nyx, causing the child to toddle around lost for ages until a kind woman had found her and taken her to an orphanage. The orphanage was where Nyx met and befriended Freddie. At the age of 16, children remaining in the orphanage would be offered jobs or apprentice positions. Nyx's father and mother had come to look for workers. Her father was searching for knights to apprentice and her mother wanting maids for the kitchen, when they saw Nyx they knew she was their long lost daughter. After all she mirrored them in many ways. Her hair the exact shade as her father's and her face the spitting image of her mother's.

A beautiful story, right? Long lost daughter found by her loving, wonderful parents. Wrong. Nyx was bitter, she didn't want the life of a Noble, she had prayed to be given a job as one of the King's assassins or something equally important and cool. Nyx did not want to sit at home and look pretty and then eventually marry some rich man. She wanted adventure and fun. However when she told her reinstated parents these things they brushed her off and attempted to rein her in and make her perfect. Nyx wasn't having any of that though. Nyx believed strongly in 'Once an orphan, always an orphan'. This was precisely the reason she refused to call Mister and Misses Mason mum and da.

Nyx returned down the stairs with a fully packed bag and more appropriate travel clothes. She wore brown leather leggings with a black tunic and black boots. Her only accessory was a sword at her side held by a scabbard, it was doubtful that many Ladies of the court would approve of her choice in 'accessory', most of them opting for a pearl necklace or diamond earrings, but Nyx definitely didn't want for the approval of those Ladies.

"Let's get horses." Nyx grabbed Freddie with one hand and Colin with the other and unceremoniously tossed them out of her house and on to her perfectly manicured lawn. She pushed in front of the boys and stalked off to the stables to the side of her mansion of a house.

The stables were quite impressive, with eight beautiful, polished horses. Freddie always inquired why Nyx's family needed eight horses anyway, it seemed rather useless and unnecessary considering only three people lived there. Nyx would never answer him, but instead shrug noncommittally and say "Well, why not?" Freddie supposed if he had lots of money he might spend it frivolously too. Immediately his choice of horse was very clear, Freddie practically sprinted over to the white and brown spotted mare. The horse might as well have belonged to Freddie because he always rode it, took care of it and fed it whenever he was abducted by Nyx. Freddie loved his horse and was more attentive than the stable boy could ever be.

"Hello there Brightson." Freddie rubbed the happy horse's neck as it nickered softly at him. He began to saddle the horse gently while Nyx had a conversation with the sable boy.

"We are just taking three. Don't use that tone with me, Mr. Mason would be upset to know that you weren't allowing me to use my own horse." Nyx was glaring at the newly hired stable boy. The poor boy had not been completely informed on the rules as he was still in training, but his master had gone off to sleep already and left the boy to clean the stalls out.

"But I-" Nyx cut the boy off.

"Do you know who I am?" The boy ogled the girl with wide brown eyes. "My father is Captain Marvin Mason." The boys eyes went incredibly wider and he began spilling apologies pathetically. Nyx waved him away and went straight to a shorter black horse, a clydesdale.

Colin stood awkwardly not sure what to do. "Pick yourself a horse." Nyx gestured at the remaining six horses who hadn't been chosen. Colin glanced around at the many choices. He selected one that looked like his horse back at the palace and began to saddle it, just as the other two had done with theirs.

"That's Dumbell." Nyx informed Colin as he lead the normal brown house out. "Mine is Misty and Fred's got Brighty."

"Brightson." Freddie frowned at Nyx. "Her name is Brightson. Brighty is no where near gallant enough for such a magnificent creature." Nyx smirked and winked at Colin as she responded with a voice of innocence.

"Brighty is so cute though, like a kitten."

"A kitten!" Freddie sounded outraged. "Brightson is not cute, she is impressive and striking. A kitten?" Freddie scoffed and pet the horse gently muttering to it. "She didn't mean it, you're nothing like a kitten."

Colin grinned and suppressed the laughter that he badly wanted to let free, it bubbled in his chest and pushed even harder when Nxy walked up to the mare and patted it softly saying in a voice that someone might use when addressing a baby or pet,

"Aren't you just a cutie? Yes you are." This caused Freddie to huff in anger and pull his horse away from Nyx and out of the stable. Nyx grinned and let out a small laugh, Colin followed with a loud guffaw. The two laughed loudly but were stopped shortly when an angry voice called back to them.

"Are you two coming?"

"Yes." Colin and Nyx chorused innocently, causing them to burst into more laughter. When they had finally ceased their guffaws and lead their horses to where Freddie was they then jumped atop their horses ready to ride. Freddie continued pouting and readjusted his sword so it wouldn't bump the horse and be an annoyance.

"I see you two decided to join me." Nyx rolled her eye at her best friend's was quite used to them from being around him over the years. Freddie was as dramatic as Nyx was curious.

"Yes, finally." She spoke sarcastically. "Let's be going." Nyx lead the boys off of her lawn and into the woods to begin traveling.

"Where exactly are we going anyway?" Colin questioned Nyx hopefully. Nyx turned to him with a small smile.

"It's a secret." With that sentence Colin found himself despising Nyx again, the previous camaraderie they had attained when laughing and teasing Freddie was now gone. Colin didn't understand this mysterious girl. Here she sat on her small entirely black horse and they both nearly blended in with the shadows of the forest, this girl had stolen from Colin's brother yet he'd been laughing with her just moments before. How could she be so frustrating and so intriguing all in one moment?

Colin attempted to figure out more about this Nyx Mason. He felt as if he'd heard the last name Mason before. She'd said her father was Captain Marvin Mason… Captain. Suddenly it came to Colin, his father's top officer, the military genius was Captain Marvin Mason. Nyx must be his daughter, but if this was true then why did she steal, Nyx had plenty of money. Colin found himself even more confused now that he knew more about Nyx. In fact it felt to him like he knew less and not more. Of course this is what had made Colin agree to helping this girl in the first place, he needed to know more about her. She was a puzzle and he had to solve it, an adventure he needed to journey. Colin knew that he was too curious for his own good and often his mother would tell him so, but he still couldn't help himself.

"Alright, well before we continue I should send a letter to my family explaining where I'm going and what I'm doing, though I have no clue myself." Nyx grinned widely.

"Sure. We'll go to the messenger service."

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**Thanks for reading, please review. (Sorry for the unbelievingly late update)**

**RandomAngel123- I'm glad you got your internet back! :)**

**ZenaraTheDragon- That'r very kind of you to say :) I'm hoping it's clever. Thanks for pointing out my 'mare mistake' this chapter, I've fixed it!**

**loona- Thanks for the review, haha.**

**Lonelyromancewriter- Thank :)**

**Pokemonchen- I understand, I've been pretty busy with school too, midterms suck. You'll understand her parents more later.**

**Ilikemutemath- Thanks for the offer but at the moment I'm pretty sure I know what I'll write next, I'll definitley ask though if I do get writers block. Thank you for your kind reviews, they really made my day. :)**

**PeaceLoveSteak,**

**Jenn**


	5. Chapter 4: Losing His Temper

**Chapter 4: Losing His Temper**

**Hey guys btw I've been editing the previous chapters to make them better, you may want to reread at least the first (actual) chapter bc I've added some important information that wasn't there before. Thanks for your patience!**

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When their group of three had reached the messenger service station the sun had completely set. Nyx entered the shop causing a loud jingle and a slam from the force she used on the door. This caused all the carrier pigeons to coo in worry and flap their wings around hurriedly. It was apparent that she'd made the noises to awake the sleeping man sitting in the corner, head rested on the desk and his body slumped in an uncomfortable wooden chair. Said man jumped up straight and blinked sleepily.

"Hi, we are in need of your services." Nyx chimed, too happily, obviously taking pleasure in waking the man.

"You." The man spat at Nyx. "It's much ta late fer ya to be sendin' some letters. Go away." Nyx smiled evilly.

"They aren't from me. Colin's got to send his mum and dad a message." The man grumbled as he yanked a drawer of the desk open and took out parchment, ink and a quill.

"Here." he shoved the items towards Colin and leaned back in his chair. He continued to glare at Nyx while Colin jotted out a quick note.

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Mum and Father,

I've decided to visit a few of the neighboring kingdoms and befriend a few other royales. I plan on updating you soon on my journey. Do not worry for my safety, I've enlisted the help of a knight in training and I'm traveling in the company of Sir Mason's daughter.

Love you both,

Colin IV

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After his loopy signature Colin drew a practiced crown with five points. Nyx glanced at the letter and began to grin. A new plan was formulating quickly in her mind.

"Colin the fifth, what are you a prince or something?" Nyx asked with false humour. Colin chuckled nervously and responded with a icy,

"I don't know what you're talking about." That was all the answer Nxy needed. From that simple nervous answer Nyx now knew that Colin was infact a prince. Her new plan became more focused and clear. Nyx turned to the angry, tired pigeon man.

"Actually we'll need to send another letter after all." The man scowled deeper than he had been previously and pulled out another slip of parchment and threw it at Nyx. Nyx bent over the paper, tapping the quill against her chin before grinning and scrawling her thoughts quickly.

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To the gracious King Mish of Seagon,

Lady Nycole, daughter of Sir Mason of Middler and Prince Colin IV, son of King Horan of Middler shall be traveling through your beautiful kingdom. It would be wonderful if Prince Colin and Lady Nycole could visit you at your palace in a few days on their way through the kingdom. The journey should not take long, see you soon!

Your friends,

Lady Nicole Of Middler

and

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Here Nyx stopped and slid the paper to Colin. "Sign." She motioned to the space that she'd left for his signature. Colin read through what Nyx had written, frowning slightly afterword.

"This isn't exactly the greatest letter. You just invited us to their kingdom." Freddie reads the letter over Colin's shoulder and agrees with him,

"Yeah and you didn't even mention me once." Nyx rolls her eyes at both boys and begins to explain.

"I'm inviting us because otherwise we'd have to wait a long time for a conformation, that they are already required to consent unless they want to start a war. Freddie, you are of no importance, it wouldn't help to put your name down, you are going to be our protection." Nyx put finger quotes around the word "protection". Both boys frowned at her.

"I am too important." Freddie mumbled softly with a pout.

"It's still rude." Colin spoke at the same time, under his breath.

"At Least you know where we are going now!" Nyx teased Colin. He huffed and signed his name with the special crown symbol beside his name. "Excellent!" Nyx handed their letters to the pigeon man who made her fill out forms on where they needed to go. The man tied the letters to two separate birds, one in a cage labeled "Palace of Seagon" and the other "Palace of Middler".

The man had grunted about payment causing Nyx to roll her eyes but reach for her change purse anyway. She prepared to pay just enough money for the pigeons but Colin beat her to it. He took out a handful of coins that were too much for just two pigeon messages. The previously grumpy man was now stuttering his thanks and staring at Colin with wide eyes.

"Thank you, thank you." He repeated for about the millionth time. Nyx frowned at the man in distaste.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. Bye." Nyx grabbed one arm of each boy and began to steer them out of the small shop.

Colin was beginning to get very sick of Nyx grabbing and directing him places with force. Causing him to instead of following with resignation, like Freddie, dragging his feet and pulling away from Nyx's claw-like grip. Her grip tightened and her nails scraped at his arm, this caused him to speed up until they were out the door of the store. Once outside Nyx let go of both boys' arms.

"What the hell?" Colin yelled as he tore his shirt sleeve up to look at a few small nail marks there. Nyx and Freddie glanced at him in confusion as they saddled their horses. "You-" Colin pointed furiously at Nyx. "Are one of the worst people I've ever met. You just think you can waltz in, steal things and then drag people around without telling them the destination and leaving marks all over them."

Colin's anger boiled over as he practically screamed at Nyx in the middle of town. Nyx leaned away slightly and glanced at Freddie. Freddie was staring at Colin with disgust and he quickly cut the Prince's rant off with his own anger filled voice.

"Don't speak to her like that!" Freddie practically growled, Nyx waved her hand in his direction.

"No, no he's right. I did sort of force him to come, and I have been yanking him around." Nyx stared at Colin directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry." She spoke calmly. "I didn't realize you were so angry. I told you, if you tell me the importance of the necklace I'll give it back and you can be on your way." Nyx waited patiently and kindly for Colin to respond. When he did his voice was quiet and soft with shame.

"No, I'm sorry." He walked calmly and mounted his horse as Freddie and Nyx had earlier.

Nyx nodded and then continued down the road aways. She stopped her horse in front of a small inn and spoke for the first time since Colin's apology,

"We'll sleep here tonight." No one had spoken on the ride to the Foxface Inn, which is now where they unmounted their horses and patfooted to the stables. Freddie had been busy glaring at Colin or grumpily staring straight in front of him. Colin had been ashamed of his behavior, a Prince shouldn't yell no matter how angry he is. Plus Nyx had apologized and made him feel worse.

Nyx's reasons for not talking was simply that she was tired. Her day had started at 5 am and she'd been doing things nonstop up to this point. All she could think of was the nice warm, but not too soft bed awaiting her in the inn. She thought also of possibly ordering some warm soup to help take away the chill from the night.

Although it was finally spring, the weather still felt like winter. Spring had only officially just started and small piles of snow still remained on the ground. Most of the snow was melting away in the bright sun during the day, but at night it would refreeze.

Nyx had to stop herself from sprinting into the inn and calling for soup and warm blankets to be brought to her. Instead she trudged up the wooden stairs and pushed through the door, the boys following closely behind. The warmth radiated onto the group almost immediately after they had ambled through the door. The heat was very welcome and caused Nyx to shed her brown leather coat and be left only in her black tunic and leggings. Her tunic sleeves were long and still left her slightly overheated, she shoved them up to her elbows uncaringly.

"Hello!" A wide woman with kind, light blue eyes called out to the party. "What can I do fer ya?" She smiled a crooked grin at them.

"How many rooms do you have open?" Nyx inquired politely while trying to hide her utter exhaustion.

"We haf one but it's large, got two beds in eh but we can always bring in 'nother cott. It'll be expensive though."

"Money isn't a problem." Nyx smiled back at the woman. "We'll take it." The woman nodded and yelled at one of the men to go make up the room.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Soup. Please." Nyx gasped out hungrily and hopefully. Her stomach made noises in agreement to her choice.

"What kind ya want darlin'?" She asked kindly. Nyx flopped down at one of the tables in the small dining hall.

"Doesn't matter."

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review. (Sorry for the unbelievingly late update! I know I'm horrible) Thanks to those who do review, you remind me that my story is something worth writing.**

**RandomAngel123- I fail at updating soon, so sorry!**

**ZenaraTheDragon- Thanks for pointing out my mistake it's been fixed!**

**Pokemonchen- Right, you'll understand why more as the story goes on, hopefully.**

**Ilikemutemath- Your review maed me smile really big, like my smile filled my face. Thanks for the kind words.**

**PeaceLoveDontLetMeForgetToUpdateAgain,**

**Jenn**


	6. Chapter 5: Intro Seagon, Mish, Travis

**Chapter 5: Introducing Seagon, Mish and Travis**

* * *

Morning came with bright pink and orange rays, dazzling and beautiful. The cloudless, sunny start to the day did nothing to brighten Colin's mood. He stomped down the stairs to where Nyx was already seated, shoveling pancakes into her mouth. Nyx glanced at him a large grin on her face, it paled as her eyes found Colin's eternal scowl.

"Can you take your black cloud somewhere else?" Nyx intoned lightly. Colin huffed and threw himself into the chair across from Nyx, slumping down grumpily. "What's got your princely britches in a bunch?" Nyx spoke through a mouthful of bacon.

"Couldn't sleep." Colin mumbled.

"Why not?" She stabbed another piece of pancake and chewed ferociously. Her gaze was fixed on him, genuinely curious of his answer.

"I've never slept in an inn before." Nyx nodded in understanding.

"Not used to the sounds of the village?" She suggested kindly. "Villagers wake up exceptionally early to get a good start on the day. They are loud because they expect everyone else to have woken by now as well." She explained to Colin and then called across the room to the woman who had given them their room the night before.

"I swear I heard people talking right outside my window, before the sun was even up." Colin grumbled. Nyx nodded sympathetically, but this gesture was ruined by the small smile pulling at her lips.

"What do ya wan' dear?" The plump inn's woman questioned helpfully.

"Bring him the works!" Nyx pointed at Colin and winked at the woman as she continued. "He could use some sweet to defeat his sour mood."

The inn lady left after letting out a loud laugh. Colin glared at Nyx and crossed his arms.

"Oh, don't be angry, she's bringing you food!" Nyx coaxed, the word food was said as the word money would be said by a beggar. Colin felt his lips twitching, a smile almost stretching across his face. When the platter of varied food was placed in front of him, he did grin.

"Where can I get one of those?" A yawning, eager Freddie with rather mussed hair sat himself beside Nyx.

"Morning sleeping beauty!" Nyx chirped.

"It is. Now how 'bout some food, coffee too?" The inn lady ran back to the kitchen to fetch Freddie's food and a mug of coffee.

"How'd you sleep so long?" Colin was amazed that Freddie had only just woken what with the absolute ruckus throughout the village. Freddie sipped at the black coffee before answering. His response was a simple shrug, then he stuffed pancake into his mouth. It seemed Freddie still didn't fancy talking to Colin after yesterday, or he was still too tired.

"Freddie could sleep if there was a stampede in his room while loud men fought each other and screamed when an animal got too close to them." Colin was stunned to find himself chuckling, rather loudly at this. Freddie stuck his tongue out at Nyx. She reciprocated the childish activity. Colin snorted at the two of them, none of his six brothers had stuck their tongues out at each other since they were each respectively five years old. Once they turned five their mother would give a long speech to each boy, explaining that tongues belonged in your mouth and should only be used for making words and tasting food. Colin agreed completely of course, but still found a small amount of enjoyment watching the two act so young despite their actual ages.

Nyx poked her tongue out at him too, he shook his head. Her grin caused a smile to materialize on his face too. Freddie hadn't glanced up from his food this whole time.

"Eat quickly you too. We should be leaving soon, I'll get the horses ready." She stood and left the two boys alone. By the way Freddie was shoveling food into his mouth Colin figured there was no time or point in chatting and he too began eating his food quickly.

* * *

The three horses trotted through the thinning woods rapidly, it was well past lunch by now and Nyx had allowed a small break earlier, which helped greatly in bringing the horses and the boys' spirits up. A new village was coming into view, a welcome sight as they hadn't seen any people since they'd left the Foxface Inn two days ago. Villagers milled around, wrapping up last minute tasks since the dark was creeping ever closer.

"Seagon." Nyx announced. The boys glanced at the large houses, they could smell salt and fish and hear the distant sound of waves under chattering villagers. Nyx pointed to a large building surrounded by walls, in the distance. "That's the palace. We will stay at an inn tonight and then spend the morning attempting to look presentable before visiting King Mish."

As they passed through the first part of the village, the three couldn't help but notice how different Seagon was from their own kingdom. Middler was the kingdom centered between four other kingdoms. Seagon was west and placed on the waterfront, Eamon to the east and next to towering mountains, Saddun was also near the ocean but was to the south. Lastly was Nedder, placed in the North and rather boring. Of course there were other kingdoms but those didn't affect Middler as often, so they weren't of much concern to Nyx, Colin and Freddie.

Middler had great land for agriculture, and was rather woodsy, filled with plenty of game. Seagon was quite the opposite. Trees were scarce, or thin and tall, their leaves spreading wide from the tops. The ground was less grass and dirt but much more sand and waves crashed along the edges of the kingdom. The ocean couldn't always be seen through the many buildings but could be heard and smelled throughout the whole kingdom.

The buildings were elevated, tall and painted in light shades of white, yellow or blue. Many houses appeared crooked and as if a small breeze might knock them down. Paint was chipped and dull. The people milling around looked tired and sad. Colin thought that it must be the effect of the sun behind the houses and the tiredness from a long day that made everything seem so downcast. Or perhaps it was the cool wind that drifted off the ocean and made the air chilly. Or the gray of the small clouds hanging over the kingdom and the brown trees, half-dead, towering ominously. Whatever it was people seemed quick to avoid eye contact and eager to return to their tall, skinny houses. As the trio grew closer to the palace, buildings became richer, brighter, wider and the people happier. Their still seemed to be grayness hanging over the whole kingdom of Seagon.

Colin shook away the feeling and instead attempted to find the small pleasant things in Seagon. Establishments had silly ocean related names such as "The Lobster Boiler", "Lot's of Ship" and "The Crab Shack". The three found the names rather amusing. Stores were brighter than the homes and had funny painted signs hanging in the windows. The trees with the wide leaves only at the tops were potted at corners of buildings, stretching tall above their heads and looking better taken care of then the ones seen earlier.

Nyx insisted they stop at a clothing store called "Sally's Sailing Styles" to get both boys better attire.

"You've been wearing the same outfits for the past three days, they are dirty and we will all need a good selection of clothes. I only have one nice dress, which probably isn't acceptable." Nyx had sighed wistfully after that and glanced at her pants as if she would miss them greatly.

In the store Colin perused and grabbed every nice shirt and pair of trousers he found. His hands snatched up an expensive pair of shoes and a decorative bag to add to his mass of clothes. Freddie had grabbed three white cloth shirts and three pairs of black trousers and pushed them into Nyx's arms. Besides Freddie's boring selections, Nyx's arms were laden with multiple colorful dresses. She paid the lady behind the counter, Sally, and then stuffed Freddie's things in a new bag. Nyx's own things were folded nicely by Sally and brought to the bag on Nyx's horse. Colin handed over a large amount of coins to Sally, who grinned kindly and thanked him.

Next they found an inn to eat dinner at and sleep in. Despite the exhausted people with small amounts of money, only good things could be heard about King Mish. Nyx overheard one person chattering excitedly about the King's last speech and how his words were like a lifeline to the villagers. Nyx scowled and huffed angrily. The boys looked at her curiously, but she shrugged them off and dug into her food avidly.

The three ended up thoroughly stuffing themselves with lobster, fried potatoes, and ale. One thing could be said about Seagon; the food was delicious. The three were able to buy themselves separate rooms. Not many people stayed overnight at the inn, although enough drank until fairly intoxicated. The three visitors slept in comfortable beds and barely registered the soft pattering of rain hitting the building.

* * *

By morning the rain had stopped. Nyx shuffled down the stairs in a lovely dress. It was the one dress she'd brought from home, her mother had bought it for her as a birthday gift last year. The dress had blue quarter sleeves, a silvery bodice that tied in the front, a flowing light blue skirt that completely covered Nyx's dirty black boots. She refused to wear heels. Nyx's hair was half pulled back, her black curls flowing down her back. Her fierce eyes looked like gray storm clouds, standing out spectacularly because of the dress' coloring.

Colin gazed at her in shock. She looked gorgeous, like an actual girl. Her eyes met his.

"You look nice." She curtseyed with a wink. Colin wore a dark blue long sleeved shirt with gold patterns on the cuffs of the sleeves, with beige trousers and his new shiny black shoes.

"You too."

"Thank you!" Freddie popped out of nowhere, his plain white shirt untied to show the top of his tan chest with his boring black bottoms. Nyx giggled and grabbed Freddies arm, linking hers through.

"Off we go!" She cheered. They paid the inn owner and collected their newly groomed horses from the stables. Nyx grabbed Colin's crown that had been hidden in his pocket when he'd met her and then his bag for the rest of the trip, she plopped it on his head. Then on her horse, Nyx sat up self importantly and winked at Colin again. He sat up, imitating Nyx's style. Together they trotted side by side, they were distinguished and mighty. Freddie was behind them, following with his back straight, head held high and eyes searching. They were an impressive sight to behold. Villagers scurried out of their way and crowded on the sides of the streets. People craned their necks trying to see the visiting Prince and Lady. Children exclaimed excitedly, women gasped in awe and men saluted respectfully. The trio arrived at the palace gates well after lunch time and two guards asked for their names. When informed of the visitors' status, the guards ushered them inside quickly. The horses were led to the stables, the trio to the entrance of the palace.

The outside of the palace was large and gold, the inside was much the same. Finery decorated every wall, corner and inch of the palace. The items screamed expensive and fragile. Portraits of dull looking men lined the walls. One man repeated throughout the portraits. He was on the edge of overweight and pale with a long graying black beard and hair. His eyes were painted entirely black, the iris and pupil resembling a black tunnel. Colin hoped the painter's colors had just mixed or faded over time and that the man didn't actually look so evil and frightening.

The three were led away from the entrance room and down the hall to the left, after waiting for ten minutes. The wide hall had large windows with a spectacular view of the palace grounds. They followed the guard into another large room off of the hallway. The room was just as spectacular as the entrance room had been. A large crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, the lit candles glinting off of the gems and diamonds in the chandelier. Smaller chandeliers hung from other areas of the ceiling, all gold and jewel encrusted. The room had a set of stairs that half-spiraled down from the far wall's center. A balcony was along the whole of the room with many doors dispersed in the upper part leading most likely to many other hallways and extravagant rooms. The far left wall had a raised floor with steps up to it, large velvet chairs sat upon the stage. The middle one the biggest and most impressive. In it sat the man from the portraits.

Nyx scoffed at the absurd amount of riches in just the one room. She walked swiftly to the front of the platform with the seated man, Colin hurrying beside her to keep up. Freddie strolled a ways after the two, hand on the sword attached to his hip. He surveyed every inch of the room meticulously, ready for danger.

It took a couple minutes to cross the room but when Nyx and Colin finally came to a stop the man grinned.

"Welcome Prince Colin and Lady Nycole of Middler to our lovely Kingdom, Seagon." He spread his arms welcomingly. Colin wasn't sure why but he felt thoroughly creeped out by the large man. He was tall, you could tell even as he sat, and was indeed well fed, as his portraits had suggested. His black eyes resembled dark endless pits where you couldn't see a bottom to. Colin wasn't sure why he felt so spooked when every word the King spoke oozed of kindness.

"King Mish." Nyx curtseyed, Colin bowed quickly. "Good to see you again."

"Yes!" The King chuckled cooly. " How is your father the Duke?"

"He's well thank you." Nyx spoke just as leisurely as the King. Her words were gentle and relaxed, while her back was pin straight and her shoulders tense. Colin was confused by the tension.

"Last time I saw you, you were a small child." The king grinned, showing all his white teeth.

"Yes, sad that it has been so long!" Colin shook himself, he must of been imagining the tension, Nyx's face was a picture of pleasantness and the King was so benevolent.

"What are you 17 now?" Nyx nodded. "My son has just turned 18 himself." The King turned to Colin then and smiled. He smiled back.

"Prince Colin, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Colin hastily spoke. It was really, such a pleasure to meet the King. Nyx glanced at Colin with worry. What could she possibly be worried about, everything was just peachy.

Just then a door banged open and Colin's foggy mind suddenly felt clear. He hadn't even been aware that it was muddled to begin with. King Mish didn't appear so hospitable anymore, and his smile didn't seem so welcoming anymore. Instead King Mish's smile looked forced and creepy. Colin glanced up at where the sound had come from. One of the many doors lining the balcony had opened and a tall man with black hair moved down the stairs and over to the others.

"Father, you didn't tell me the company had arrived."

"Well they have Travis." King Mish' words seemed cold.

"Travis!" Nyx practically squealed from beside Colin. He'd never heard her sound more like a princess. Prince Travis' eyes went wide in shock.

"Nycole?" Prince Travis grinned widely. "It is you! How long has it been, 12 years?"

"Just about!" Nyx nodded. The two rushed forward and stopped. They seemed unsure if they should hug or not. Finally Nyx offered her hand to the Prince, he softly grasped it and gave it a gentle kiss.

"I've missed you." Prince Travis whispered so quietly Colin almost didn't hear it."

"Same." Nyx murmured back.

Colin noticed Freddie moving behind him. He glanced back to see Freddie's face pulled in a scowl and his hand clutching his sword even tighter now.

"Well," King Mish called loudly, the attention returning to him. "dinner anyone? We have a spectacular feast planned."

* * *

**THIS 2,757 WORDS! I THINK I DESERVE REVIEWS. Seriously though, I worked really hard on this. It's 11 at night now and i started writing around 4 with only one break (dinner), so please review. Pm me if you see any mistakes! my eyes and brain are very tired! I was going through to correct this and randomly at one point I had switched to 1st person pov for like 2 sentences so idk what my brain is thinking. Thanks!**

**RandomAngel123: I'm glad I could make you smile!**

**Guest 1: MORE HERE!**

**McKenzie Vallir: Thank you for your reviews! They really made me smile! I'm glad you like my writing smile, I've tried a couple different ways of writing. **

**Pokemonchen: Colin's temper will be a very interesting thing throughout the story. Atleast I'm planning on making it that way.**

**Abby Smith: Thank you for the review, I will be continuing my story. Sorry I took so long to update. **

**PeaceLoveSLEEP,**

**Jenn**


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